


Five Years

by natashasbanner



Series: Endgame Missing Scenes/Fix It Fics [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 05:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19202629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: Natasha was alone at the facility, doing the work everyone else couldn't bring themselves to continue. She was fine. She didn't need them dropping in every couple of months trying to help her.OrFive times the Avengers thought Natasha needed help and one time she actually did.





	Five Years

The compound felt a lot bigger when there was only one occupant. There were parts she hadn’t seen in months and other she’d rather not venture to at all. Natasha mostly spent her time between the gym and communal living space, sleeping in her old room or Bruce’s when the mood struck her. 

It had been a few months since he’d finally left. It was inevitable, Natasha expected it like all the others. He’d lasted longer than she thought he might though. She thought she’d miss him, like she missed Steve and Rhodey and Tony, but she just felt empty. He called every once in a while and she put on a smile so he wouldn’t worry but when the call ended she’d just sit in the quiet room until something else drew her attention. 

“When was the last time you were outside?” Okoye asked, looking at her in concern. 

Their monthly meeting via hologram gave her a sense of purpose and she looked forward to them, even if they were as uneventful as this one. 

Okoye had stuck around after everyone had signed off and now Natasha understood why. 

“I went outside last night,” Natasha said, a little smug. 

It was raining and it took hours to warm up from the icy chill that settled into her bones, but she’d wanted to feel something. Okoye didn’t need to know all of that though. 

“Come back to Wakanda,” she said, seeing straight through her. 

“Didn’t I already overstay my welcome?” 

After Thanos, they’d tried to stay and help fix some of the damage they helped cause. They were the ones who brought the fight to their doors in the first place. But the queen politely asked them to leave after a few weeks so that they could begin to heal. 

They were on a plane to the US the next morning.  

Okoye let out a sigh and Natasha shook her head. 

“Look,” she paused and pushed the reheated spaghetti around her plate. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine.” 

She met Okoye’s eyes in the hologram and stared her down until she finally gave up. 

“I’m only a call away, if you change your mind.” 

“I know,” she said with a tight smile. 

Okoye watched her a moment longer before turning away, her hologram disappearing. Natasha dropped her fork, splattering spaghetti on the table. The sound was almost deafening in the empty room. 

She looked forward to these meetings, but they all ended the same. Someone would linger longer than the others and ask if she was okay. Last month it was Rhodey. He said to come back for a while and take some of the load off of her, all she had to do was say the word. One of them must have talked to Steve the month before because he she’d finally gotten him to leave the week before. 

And it wasn’t that she was in denial. She wasn’t fine, but she didn’t have time to sulk or go off and find herself in this new fucked up world. They were still the Avengers and the world needed them now more than ever. If the others needed time to get their shit together, they could have. She was perfectly fine where she was, even if everyone else thought they knew better. 

Here, she could still do some good and that’s what she intended. 

* * *

“You busy?”

Natasha looked up from the file in her hand to see Carol standing in the doorway. 

“What are you still doing here?” 

Carol was only going to be on planet for a week. She usually just spent the night at the compound before going to Louisiana for the rest of her stay unless they needed her. Nat knew about her family even though Carol never talked about them. She was one of the lucky ones and didn’t want to rub it in. 

“Thought I’d stay an extra day or two,” she said with a shrug that was too forced to be casual. 

Natasha smirked and looked back down at her file. 

“Don’t you want to see your wife?” 

She didn’t have to see her to know it tripped Carol up and there was a long stretch of silence before she spoke again. 

“She doesn’t know I’m here,” she said with a sigh. 

Natasha looked up and saw Carol picking at her fingernails, her brow furrowed. 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

She shook her head. “Not really.” 

“Do you wanna fight?” 

“If you’re not busy.” 

Natasha closed the file and kicked her feet down from the desk. 

“As long as you don’t blast me across the room, I’m all yours.”

Carol returned her smirk. “I’ll try my best.” 

~

The sound of Natasha hitting the mat echoed through the gym. She watched Carol relax her fighting stance and come over to offer her hand. Natasha accepted the hand up and rotated her shoulder experimentally. 

“I almost had you that time,” she said. 

Carol laughed and walked over to take a drink of water. “Sure you did. I think you’re losing your touch.” 

“I’m going to ignore that because this is supposed to be helping you.” 

“One more round?” Carol asked, setting down her water bottle.

Natasha shrugged. “Or we could talk about why your family doesn’t know you’re here.” 

“I’d rather just kick your ass again.” Carol said, dropping back into her fighting stance. “Or would you rather talk about the fact that you haven’t left this place in a year.” 

“Fine,” Natasha said, starting to circle Carol. “Let’s do this.”

They circled each other on the mat, Natasha trying to find a weak spot. There weren’t many, but Natasha was willing to play a little dirty. She waited until Carol went for the first blow. She dodged it and grabbed her arm, holding Carol in place. 

“Did you get into a fight?” she asked and saw Carol falter momentarily.

Natasha pushed her away and quickly got out of reach with a smirk. Carol recovered quickly and they circled again. 

“Why are you so afraid of leaving this place?” Carol asked as they circled each other again. 

Natasha expected her to retaliate, but still it tripped her up a little. 

“Who said I was afraid?” 

It was Carol’s turn to smirk. “Why else would you stay cooped up here?” 

Natasha shrugged. “Why are you hiding?” 

“You didn’t answer my question.” 

“You didn’t answer mine.” 

Natasha raised an eyebrow and Carol chose that moment to strike. Natasha ducked her blow and kicked her feet out from under her. She hit the mat with a thud and grabbed Natasha’s ankle to pull her down too. Natasha rolled and popped back up on her feet. 

“When was the last time you were even on planet?” Natasha pushed and saw Carol’s hands start to light up. 

“Almost a year,” Carol answered, her jaw clenched as she got to her feet. “When are you going to admit you’re not okay?” 

Natasha ground her teeth together and charged at Carol. She landed a few blows and had her thighs around her head and was about to drop them both to the ground, but she felt a warm burn on her chest before she was slammed against the mat. She just laid there for a minute trying to catch her breath. 

“I’m so sorry,” Carol said, dropping down beside her. 

Natasha held up a hand and pushed herself up into a sitting position. 

“What happened to not blasting me across the room,” she asked. 

“It’s kind of a reflex. I’m really sorry.” 

“I’m okay,” Natasha assured her. “You owe me a new shirt.” 

They both looked down at the singed remains of the t-shirt she wore. 

Carol chuckled and helped Natasha to her feet. “That’s fair.” 

“And you should go see your family.” 

She ducked her head and scuffed her foot against the mat. “Yeah.” 

“We should do this again,” Natasha said. “I actually had fun.” 

Carol grinned. “Me too.” 

* * *

Steve showed up a few days ago. Something about needing a break from the city. She saw right through him of course and let him wander aimlessly through the empty halls or sit and chat about nothing. The company was nice but if he tried to pull another stunt like last time his ass would be on the lawn in a heartbeat. She didn’t need a babysitter.

He was currently attempting to make dinner, attempt being the operative word because there was far too much smoke for any of it to be edible at this point. 

“Should I order the pizza now or should I wait until the smoke alarms go off?” she teased from her spot on the island. 

There were peppers he hadn’t tossed into the pan yet beside her and she munched on them as he stirred what was in the pan. Apparently, chicken fajitas were too much for Captain America. 

“Thanks for your help by the way,” he grunted and dropped the spatula onto the stove top. 

“You said you wanted to try a new recipe?” Natasha pointed out. “Who am I to get in your way?”

He shook his head and pushed the pan away from the burner. 

“Order the pizza,” he said. 

Natasha smirked and popped another pepper into her mouth. “It’ll be here in twenty minutes.” 

~

“Have you talked to any of the others?” Steve asked, the pizza box open on the table between them. 

Natasha shrugged. “We have a meeting once a month and Bruce calls once every couple of weeks.”

“How’s he doing?” 

“Better.” 

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I was thinking about taking a drive tomorrow,” he said. “You interested?” 

Natasha raised and eyebrow. “Where?” 

“Don’t know yet.” 

“I’ll think about it.” 

He watched her for a moment longer before nodding his head and picking up another slice of pizza. 

~

They drove north, Steve behind the wheel while Natasha reclined in the passenger’s seat. She had her feet kicked up on the dash and was pleasantly surprised at how long they’d been driving without mentioning it. 

Instead of one of the luxury cars in the garage at the compound, Steve opted for the older truck he’d taken to driving in the last couple years. It made Natasha chuckled when he pulled it around to pick her up. She’d asked if he was feeling nostalgic and he didn’t answer, but that was answer enough. 

They’d been driving for about an hour, hugging the coast. It was a sunny day and Natasha had her window rolled down to let the breeze blow through her hair. Steve hadn’t said much since they got in the car, another surprise. She thought for sure this was going to be his play to give her another speech about taking better care of herself and to try and move on. 

“You alright?” she asked to break the weird silence. They didn’t have weird silences and it was extremely off putting. “You’re being awfully quiet.” 

“Just thinking,” he said, his eyes trained on the road ahead. 

Natasha raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “If you wanted time to think, why’d you invite me?” 

He shrugged. “You looked like you could use the fresh air.”

“Ah,” Natasha nodded and looked out the window, the trees flying past in a green blur. 

Everyone seemed to think that she never left the compound. That was mostly true. She’d made a few trips into the new world, but everything served as a reminder of their failure. They weren’t there to do their jobs and the universe suffered. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. 

“We’re all worried about you, Nat.” 

“And your concern has been noted,” she said. 

He sighed. “I’m being serious.” 

“So am I.” 

“You don’t have to lie to me like everyone else.” 

Natasha smiled softly. “I know and if I’m ever in need of a support group pick me up, you’ll be the first to know.” 

“Okay.” 

~ 

The sun was setting when they made it back to the compound. Natasha felt warm and sleepy and Steve looked about the same. He parked out front of the main building and turned the car off. 

“I think I’m going to head home,” he said. 

“Already tired of me?” 

“Or you threatened me when I showed up.” 

Natasha chuckled. “You’re not ready to come back to this.” 

He dropped his chin to his chest and let out a sigh. “I’m not.” 

She reached over and squeezed his shoulder. 

“Thank you, Steve.” she said. 

“Any time.” 

* * *

Natasha was laying into one of the punching bags in the gym when the call came through. The notification appeared on her watch but she swiped it away and went back to beating a hole in the punching bag. She wasn’t in the mood for whatever Tony wanted, not today.

But a moment later, a panel on the wall opened up and Tony’s image was projected onto the wall. 

“Excuse me, did you just send me to voicemail?” was the first thing out of his mouth. 

Natasha threw one last punch that sent the bag swinging and faced Tony. 

“What do you want?” 

“Is that how you greet all your guests?” He almost sounded hurt. 

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. 

“Only the ones who can’t take a hint.” 

“I’ll get to the point then,” he said, shaking his head. 

She let out a short laugh. “I wish you would.” 

“Come out to the cabin, get some fresh air.” He said, a wide grin on his face. 

“There’s fresh air here and a sprawling lawn to enjoy,” she pointed out with narrowed eyes. “Who have you been talking to?” 

He was silent, just watching her for a moment. He knew she was on to him. Their conversations were few and far between ever since he ran off to live in the woods, but there wasn’t as much bad blood between them as there was between him and Steve. They were friends again, as much as they could be when the world was in its current state. 

He finally sighed. “Bruce mentioned he was worried about you when I talked to him.”

“He could have told me that himself,” she said, ducking her head. 

She talked to him last week, the first time in months. Apparently, he’d had a breakthrough with Hulk and was working on something. He didn’t tell her what exactly, only that it could change everything. Natasha was happy for him. 

“He said he didn’t want to overstep,” Tony answered, not meeting her eyes. 

“But he had no problem sending you to do it?” 

“I offered,” he said meeting her eyes again. “Come on, Nat. There’s someone here who is really excited to meet you, do you really want to disappoint her?”

“That’s not fair,” she argued, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. 

“Is that a yes?” 

“How could I refuse?” 

He clapped his hands together and smiled. “I’ll send the address already, see you later.” 

He disappeared and the panel in the wall slid back into place just as the text came through. 

~

The lake Tony decided to build his cabin on was a bit of a hike, but Natasha left the compound early and she made it a little before noon. It wasn’t what she was expecting for Tony Stark’s retirement plan, but it was nice. It was isolated, right on the water and had this homey vibe. 

Tony came out to the porch as she got out of the car, a huge grin on his face. He looked good, really good. 

“I thought you were going to turn around,” he said as she walked up the steps. 

“I was just admiring the place,” she and let him wrap his arms around her. 

She returned the quick embrace and put some distance between them. 

“You’re just in time for lunch,” he announced and gestured for her to lead the way into the house. 

But just as she took a step to go inside, to door opened and a little head popped out. Natasha froze and Tony moved past her to pick up the little girl. She could see him and Pepper in her, but in only a second she knew she had Tony wrapped around her little finger. 

“I thought we talked about this,” Natasha heard Tony whisper to the girl. “I said I would bring her in and then you could show her all your toys.”

“I can’t wait,” she whispered, eyeing Natasha. 

She ducked her head into Tony’s shoulder when she noticed Natasha was watching her. Natasha smiled and gave a little wave. The girl giggled and clung even tighter to Tony. 

“Well I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” Tony said with an exaggerated sigh. “Morgoona this is Nat, Nat this is Morgan.” 

Morgan lifted her head and grinned at Natasha. “Hi Nat.” 

“Hi, Morgan.” 

“Wanna see my dolls?” she asked, her earlier shyness gone. 

Natasha grinned right back. “I would love that.” 

Tony set her down and she immediately ran over to take Natasha’s hand, wrapping her tiny hand around Natasha’s finger. She pulled her inside the house and to the massive collection of dolls spread out over the living room. Collection was an understatement, this was an army. Morgan let her go long enough to retrieve the Black Widow action figure from the center of the floor. 

“It’s you,” she said excitedly, shoving it into Natasha’s hands. 

“It is,” Natasha said, a lump forming in her throat. 

Lila had the same doll, a birthday present she’d begged for for months. She bought her the whole set of Avengers, but the Black Widow was her favorite. She felt Tony’s hand on her shoulder and looked over to see him watching her with a concerned look on his face. 

“You okay?” 

“Always,” she responded, though it came out a little choked. “What’s for lunch?” 

~

Tony made sandwiches for lunch and the three of them sat at the table together. Morgan insisted on moving her booster seat to be next to Natasha. 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have invited you out here,” he pouted from his spot across the table. 

“Please,” Natasha rolled her eyes. “The second I leave you’ll be her favorite person again.” 

She looked over at Morgan who was happily munching on a bite of her sandwich which Tony had cut into cute little shapes. 

“Where’s Pepper?” 

“Mommy is a very busy woman,” Morgan piped up. 

“No rest for the wicked, I’m afraid,” Tony confirmed. “You two really are two peas in a pod.” 

“Someone has to do it,” Natasha said, taking a bite of her own sandwich. 

“There’s nothing wrong with a break every now and then,” he said, giving her a pointed look. 

Natasha narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “This coming from the man who had to be bodily carried from his workshop after falling asleep. Retirement really has changed you.” 

Tony sighed and wiggled his nose at Morgan. “I’ve got my priorities straight.” 

“So do I.” 

~

“Do you have to go?” Morgan asked, her little arms wrapped around Natasha’s legs as they stood on the porch. 

“Morgoona,” Tony said. “Nat has to go home. We discussed this.” 

“I changed my mind,” she argued and spit her tongue out at him. “Stay.” 

Natasha could barely contain her chuckle and she bent down to Morgan’s level. 

“I wish I could, but what if I promise to visit again very very soon?”

“And we can call everyday in the meantime,” Tony added. 

Natasha glared up at him, but she wouldn’t mind getting a little extra dose of Morgan Stark day to day. 

Morgan seemed to deliberate in her head for a few moments and Natasha and Tony held their breath. 

“Okay,” she finally said and launched herself into Natasha’s arms. 

Natasha held her tightly and when Morgan pulled away she smirked and it was all Tony. 

“Don’t be a stranger.” 

She ran back over to Tony and picked her up instantly. Natasha smiled at the pair of them and headed for the car. 

“You heard the kid,” Tony called out as she opened the door. “Don’t be a stranger.” 

* * *

“It’s Barton,” Rhodey said.

For the first time in years he was actually at the compound in person. And he wasn’t happy. 

“You don’t know that,” Natasha argued. 

He gave her an unimpressed look. 

“You and I both know you’re a hell of a lot smarter than that.” 

Natasha looked down at the files open on the table in front of her. The evidence was inconclusive a best. The only thing that hinted at Clint were the few eyewitness statements that claimed the assailant had been using a bow and arrow. But there were also claims that whoever it was was using a katana. 

“I talked to him yesterday,” was the best she could do. 

He shook his head and started pacing back and forth. 

“Please tell me you’re not covering for him.” 

“We don’t know it’s him,” she argued. 

“They found an old arrow with the Avengers logo at one of the scenes.”

“That just proves he was at one of the crime scenes,” she argued. 

Rhodey sighed and dropped into one of the chairs in front of her. 

“You of all people should know that we can’t have a vigilante running around murdering whoever they seat fit,” he said, his tone calmer. “I know he’s your friend, but he needs to be stopped.” 

Natasha looked down at her lap. 

“Why?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Why should we intervene?” she asked, looking back up at him. “Whoever’s out there is making our jobs easier.” 

“You can’t be serious.” 

She shrugged and focused on a spot on the wall above his head. 

“What do you think is going to happen when he runs out of criminals to target?” 

She didn’t answer and heard him sigh. His hand touching hers across the table startled her momentarily, but she met his eyes. 

“I won’t put him in a cage again.” 

“I’m not asking you to.”

“And if I do? What then?” 

“I don’t know, but it needs to stop.” 

Natasha sank down into her chair and kicked her foot up onto the table. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

The corner of his mouth lifted into a small smile. “Thank you.” 

Silence settled over them for a while and it was Natasha who broke it. 

“How long are you in town?” she asked, leaning forward to clean up the files and stack them neatly in front of him. 

“I’m heading back to DC tomorrow, and then Germany the day after that,” he said. 

“Keeping busy?” 

He smirked and took the files to store them back in his bag. “What about you?” 

“Oh you know, I’m booked solid for the foreseeable future.” 

He chuckled at that. “You could come with me you know, put some of those guys to shame.” 

“Me and the government aren’t exactly on good terms,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “And I think I’ve gotten more invitations to tag along places in the last four years than I have in all the time I’ve known you guys.” 

Rhodey ducked his head and looked back up at her with his head tilted. “We’re worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” she said, swinging her chair back and forth. “You guys worry too much.” 

He watched her for a moment and shook his head. 

“You keep saying that.” 

“And maybe one day you’ll believe me.” 

“Take care of yourself, alright?” 

He stood from his chair and Natasha did the same, rounding the table to give him a quick hug. 

“I always do,” she said as she pulled away. 

He picked his bag up from the floor and slung the strap over his shoulder. 

“See you around.” 

“Don’t be a stranger.” 

* * *

She found Clint.

He was in New York. She found him just as he was slitting a man’s throat with a katana. She asked him why and he told her to get lost. Natasha refused and asked him to come in. But he couldn’t, he said he couldn’t sit by like the rest of them and let these horrible people live while so many good people, his family, were gone. He told Natasha he couldn’t stop. 

And she let him go. 

What else could she do? 

She knew he would come and stay at the compound with her, wouldn’t be content with the slow pace their operation worked at now. 

The worst part was for a split second, she let her mind wander over the possibility of doing the same. She didn’t disagree with what he was doing. The criminals he was going after needed to be stopped but his methods were flawed. 

But how easy would it be for her to flip that switch again? Just off her emotions and live up to that master assassin title again. 

It was a split second, but it shook her to her core. It wasn’t her, not any more. She worked too hard trying to be better to revert back now, to throw all of it away so the guilt and depression threatening to drown her day in and day out would stop, however temporarily. 

She locked herself in the gym since she returned to the compound, pounding out her frustration into the punching bags, occasionally switching to the shooting range. But the punching bags were far more satisfying. She’d beat holes into two already to keep the creeping temptation at bay.  

Sweat poured down her back as she relentlessly tore into the third bag. Her knuckles were bloody and bruised and she could barely unclench her fists. Not that she was interested in doing much else at the moment. 

She heard the door open, but ignored it. Whoever it was would take the hint eventually. She wasn’t in the mood for caring concern right now. 

She waited to hear the door to open and close again, but it never came. 

“Nat?” 

It was Bruce, she could see his reflection in the glass walls. It was still shocking to see the new him and for a moment she paused. 

“I’m busy,” she said and went back to punching, swallowing back the pain as her bare knuckles made contact with the bag. 

“I can see that,” he said, his tone almost irritatingly calm. “You weren’t answering your phone.” 

“I turned it off.”

She heard him sigh and heard him shuffle forward. 

“What happened?” he asked softly. “You missed your meeting.” 

Natasha rolled her eyes and scoffed. “So they called you to come check on me.” 

“Not exactly.” At least he had the good sense to look a little guilty. 

“Please,” she said, tears involuntarily welling in her eyes. “Go. I’m fine.” 

If her voice hadn’t cracked he might have listened to her, but instead his face fell and he was looking at her like she might crumble at any second. 

“You’re not fine,” he said, taking another step forward. “And you’re bleeding.” 

He nodded at the red stain on the bag and she looked down to see fresh blood dripping down her arm. 

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she tried, but felt the tears start to flow. 

“Let me take a look.” 

He held out his hand and Natasha just stared at it for a moment before she nodded. Her hand looked so small in his. It reminded her of the old days when all they had to worry about was finding Loki’s scepter and infiltrate Hydra bases. It felt like a lifetime ago. 

“You need stitches,” he concluded. 

She pulled her hand away. “Slap a bandaid on it, I’ll be okay.” 

“Come on,” he said. “I can still throw a good stitch.” 

Natasha nodded and followed him out of the gym. He lead her to the kitchen and pulled the first aid kit from where it was stored above the fridge. Natasha hopped onto the counter while he dug through the kit.

“This feels familiar,” he said with a lopsided grin. 

She was too exhausted to return it, but it did feel familiar. Like one of their countless nights spent in the kitchen of the tower. 

“How long were you in there?” he asked, getting everything ready. 

Natasha shrugged. “Few days.” 

He took her hand and turned on the faucet. The water stung. 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

She looked away and stared at the wall while Bruce dried her hand. 

“No.” 

There was a long pause before Bruce spoke again. 

“Okay.” 

She sat and stared at the wall while he worked his magic. It took longer than she remembered, due to his larger hands, but his stitches were the same. And his touch was just as gentle. 

“Do you remember all the murders I was telling you about?” 

Her voice sounded so loud in the quiet kitchen, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore. 

Bruce paused and looked up at her. “Yeah.” 

“It’s Clint.” 

She watched his brow wrinkle and he set down his tools. “What?” 

“All of them, it’s him. It has been for years.” 

“How do you know?” 

Natasha swallowed and looked down at her lap. “He told me himself.

I tried to get him to come in, to stop, but he was too far gone. His family is gone and he’s taking his rage out on these criminals.” 

He put a hand on her thigh. “I’m sorry.” 

“I almost went with him,” she admitted, the tears flowing freely. “I really wanted to, Bruce.”

“But you didn’t.” 

“They’re gone because of us. It’s our fault and no amount of moving on and trying to live in this new world is going to change that. I know what he’s doing is wrong, but I’m tired of feeling like this.” 

“I know what you mean,” he said sympathetically, finishing her stitches and wrapping some gauze around her hand. 

He turned and started cleaning up and Natasha wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dump all my problems on you. You actually got your life together.” 

He shrugged and closed the first aid kit. “I don’t mind. That’s what friends are for, right?” 

Natasha smiled faintly. “Yeah.” 

“You don’t have to do this alone, you know.” 

“So I’ve been told. Yet, you all decided to up and leave.” 

He averted his eyes momentarily. “I’m sorry about that.” 

She shrugged. “You had a lot to deal with.” 

“I’ll come back,” he offered and by the look on his face she knew all she had to do was say the word. 

But she wasn’t cruel. She wouldn’t drag him back into this when he’d finally found some semblance of peace and normality. 

“I’ll be fine.” 

He chuckled softly. “Have you ever heard that when you say a word too much, it stops sounding like a word?” 

“I might have heard it somewhere.” She smirked. “How about I’ll be okay?” 

“A little better.” He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not in this alone. I’m just a phone call away.” 

“I know.” 

She slid off the counter and wrapped her arms around Bruce’s middle. It took him a moment, but he rested his hands on her back, holding her close. She let the warmth that radiated off him and let it seep into her bones. She almost considered asking him to stay, but she pulled away before she could give into the urge. 

“Thanks, Doc,” she said with a smile. 

“Any time, Nat.” 

He put the first aid kit back where it belonged and opened the fridge. 

“You hungry?” he asked, already pulling things out. 

“If you can spare a bite or two,” she teased. 

He gave her a look over his shoulder and shook his head as he pulled pans from the cupboard. 

“I think there’ll be plenty.” 

“Then I could eat.” 

She rounded the counter to sit in one of the stools and watch him cook. He was a little clumsy, but whatever he was cobbling together from what little there was in the fridge smelled amazing. It felt normal for once and she knew when he left the loneliness would return along with the sinking feeling of guilt. 

For now though, she was going to enjoy the company and good food. 


End file.
